Tag: Sisters

2013 Challenges, Books

Book 204: Willoughby’s Return – Jane Odiwe

Geoff W

As with Dancing with Mr. Darcy I picked up a copy of this novel when Border’s Books closed down in September of 2011 and as such counts as a bonus book for my 2013 Mount TBR Reading challenge. And I have to say I’m glad I picked up a copy. Of all the Austen fan-fiction novels I’ve read so far Odiwe’s book has had the closest language and wit to the originals. It wasn’t as good as the originals, as I don’t think anything can be, but it was definitely the closest in style which was very nice.

Willoughby’s Return takes place roughly five years after the end of Sense and Sensibility and even though Sense and Sensibility isn’t one of my favorite Austen’s that didn’t stop this from being one of the better written and thought out sequels. All our favorite characters from Elinor and Marianne, Colonel Brandon, Edward Ferrars and the idiotic Steele sisters. Many other minor characters make appearances too which was nice.

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ARC, Books, Quotes

Book 179: The Suitors РC̩cile David-Weill

Geoff W

After my amazing luck with John Boyne’s The Absolutist last year, I decided to always keep an eye on Other Press releases and I’m glad I did. I requested a copy of this book directly from the publisher and I quite enjoyed it. This is my honest response and I received nothing in return.

To start, I’d like to say that the only other review on Goodreads is worthless (to me, at least). Why bother reviewing a book if that’s all you’re going to say? The person has, in essence, re-written the synopsis of the novel (on the back cover), without any additional insight or synthesis and it came across as snide to me. If you didn’t want to read “frothy froth about rich French people and their angst,” then why’d you read it? It never pretended to be anything else and that’s why I appreciated this novel. It’s times like this when I wish I could give half stars on Goodreads because it’s not quite what I would consider 5 stars, but not quite as low as 4 stars. Now on to my response.

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Books, The Classics Club

Book 172: Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

Geoff W

[For less fan-boy love and more response check out my August 2013 response here.]

Swoon. That’s my review, that’s it. I have nothing more to say. And that has nothing to do with Mr. Darcy, okay well maybe a little, but not as much as you’d think. And just to provide you with fair warning, this isn’t so much a review or response as it is a fan-boy “I love you Jane Austen” post. So read on if you like, you’ve been warned!

I’m not sure how many times I’ve read Pride and Prejudice, but I definitely feel like I should read it more often! I planned this re-read to coincide with the 200th Anniversary and I’m glad I did because it had been far too long! It also counted as one of my re-reads for The Classics Club. Hopefully the next time I re-read this novel I will be able to write about the characters or the story and have less fan-boy love, but I honestly doubt it, I mean look at all the crazy spinoffs I read even though they can never approach the original!

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2012 Challenges, Books

Book 120: The Phantom of Pemberley – Regina Jeffers

Geoff W

Yay for a quick enthralling read! We all know I discovered a love for Jane Austen fan-fiction last year and picked up quite a few volumes at the time. Some I was (and still am) not so sure about and this is one of those. I’m not quite so sure about this one, but at least it counts towards my Mount TBR Reading Challenge.

The major plus to this novel is that the story itself was gripping enough to keep me interested and there was just enough of a plot twist to make me constantly second guess what I deduced early on. The downside to the novel itself was Jeffers writing. Although she tells a captivating story, I wasn’t quite convinced that it was regency era enough for me. It definitely brought in the seedier side of things, but the language and revelations of the story just didn’t have the eloquence which Austen’s originals had. And the quoting was sometimes a bit erratic, like ‘Oh I think I’ll throw in a Pride and Prejudice quote here. And the WORST part was that she even through in an entire scene/section that was pulled directly out of Mansfield Park which really bothered me for some reason.

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Books

Book 86: March – Geraldine Brooks

Geoff W

A co-worker recommended March and prior to reading it I knew only that it detailed the mostly absent character of Mr. March in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Having finished the novel I realize it is a superb piece of ‘fan-fiction’ and well deserving of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize.

Once I realized March received a Pulitzer (about half-way through the novel) I spoke with my co-worker and she also mentioned not knowing it was a Pulitzer when she started reading it, but once she finished she felt it was a perfect Pulitzer and I couldn’t agree more. I looked up what distinguishes a Pulitzer and Wikipedia states a Pulitzer Prize for fiction is awarded (yes I used our friendly resource) “for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life.” And having just finished March, I believe perfect Pulitzer fits. I’m not referring to the writing itself, as who am I to judge, but instead to the story. Brooks wrote about a time and a place which is so uniquely American and about characters which for a long time were Americana embodied.

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